Cheap Ride

April 30, 1985

MEXICO CITY — A ride on a city bus: One U.S. penny. A subway ticket: Half a penny. Officials say the city is losing about $920,000 a day because of the unrealistic prices. The cheap tickets for buses and metro trains, established 17 years ago, have been frozen in efforts to ease growing traffic congestion in the expanding capital. The policy has worked: 4 million residents use public transportation each day. Proposed to stem the flood of red ink: A 9- cent bus ticket. A subway ride would cost a dime. Note: Each passenger costs the city 13 cents.